Please Can I Have Your Advise

Kane Griffith

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Hello All,

I'm new here and aren't really sure if this is the way to do this lol

However, i have a 6/8 month old Sulcata called Glenn, he weighs roughly about 60 grams and is very active and is eating well everything seems all well. However he makes a slight popping noise from his nose when he breathes and i'm worried it could be the start of a infection but he has no other signs such as running eyes or nose.

His temps are 30-33 in the basking zone and 26-29 in the cooler zone, night temps are never lower then 24-26 thanks to a black ceramic light.

Also another thing hes started to do is make a clicking noise with his mouth. I've watched him do it he clips the top lip shall we say with his bottom in a circle motion to make the noise, but doesn't make it when hes eating normally. Any ideas ?

am i worrying about nothing or should i get him booked into a vet ?

Please can you give me any advise you have

Thanks Kane:D:tort:
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Kane, and welcome to the Forum!

I've never encountered the popping or clicking, but my guess is that there really isn't anything to worry about. Just keep your eye on him and if he starts to exhibit any other R.I. symptoms, a vet visit would be in order.
 

Kane Griffith

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Hi Kane, and welcome to the Forum!

I've never encountered the popping or clicking, but my guess is that there really isn't anything to worry about. Just keep your eye on him and if he starts to exhibit any other R.I. symptoms, a vet visit would be in order.

Thank you for getting back to me,

I've booked Glenn into to a reptile vet on the 1st of July, so hopefully its nothing to worry about. Another quick question he naps throughout the day 20mins here and there but over night recently hes been sleeping for anything from 10pm through to 11/12. which is 12/13 hours sleep sometimes. Should i get let him sleep this long and wake up on his own or just prompt him up ? is this normal ?

Sorry Again lol
 

Yvonne G

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No need to be sorry. We're all here to help with questions...that's what we do.

I leave my babies alone most of the time. In the morning I gather them all up and put them into a little tub of warm water, then while they soak, I prepare their food and place it in the habitats. After the soak, I place the babies around the food and quickly step out of their sight. They eat then go back into the hiding place and sleep. Throughout the day that is usually the routine - wake up and eat, walk a bit, sleep a lot, repeat.
 

Tom

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Your temps are too cool. Basking area should be closer to 37, and no part of the enclosure should drop below 27, day or night. Since you might have the start of a respiratory infection going there, I would bump ambient up to 29-30 and leave it there until two weeks after symptoms disappear.

60 grams is also small for that age. Mine hit 60 by around 10 weeks after hatchling. At 6-8 months, even the slower growers are 200-300 grams.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

BrianWI

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One of my chacos when I was a kid did that grinding/ creaking then click noise all the time. Especially if he wanted attention.
 

Kane Griffith

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Your temps are too cool. Basking area should be closer to 37, and no part of the enclosure should drop below 27, day or night. Since you might have the start of a respiratory infection going there, I would bump ambient up to 29-30 and leave it there until two weeks after symptoms disappear.

60 grams is also small for that age. Mine hit 60 by around 10 weeks after hatchling. At 6-8 months, even the slower growers are 200-300 grams.

Check these out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/


Good Morning,

Sorry i was at work then i wrote that so my accuracy of the temps was off,

After checking last night his basking area was 38/39 and the cooler side of the tank 28/30

The night time temps were 30 under the blackout bulb and around the 28mark of the cooler side

i was told he as around 6 months when i brought him but as i said hes 60g and 2.5 inches long, so he could be younger

ill bump the temps up and im seeing a vet on the 1st anyway, anything else you would recommend for him if hes got the early stages of a RI
 

Tom

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Sounds like your temps are fine.

Be carful taking advice from a vet. Unless they are experienced with tortoise husbandry, most of them don't know any more than a pet shop employee. They go in the back, read something out of a vet handbook or internet site, come back and share what they've just learned as if they've known it for years and then hand you a bill. Don't let them do any "vitamin injections", as these can be harmful in some cases. This is a good sign that they have no idea what they are talking about.
 

Pearly

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Hi Kane, and welcome from Texas. My babies do make sounds ALL THE TIME! I can hear them best early in am when the house is quiet. At the beginning I was worried, thought torts were supposed to be quiet, and they ARE NOT! I think it's cool to hear them make sounds!
 

Schatzi011

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I have a slow growing guy, but his growth has always been steady. He's now about 10 years old and weighs 45 lbs, but I just checked his growth chart and at 7 months of age, he was only 80g. He didn't reach 200g until he was 2 years and 3 months old. I let him mostly self forage the first 5 or so years of his life (with some supplementation), then fed him store bought stuff while I lived in a cold climate. Now he's back to self foraging and he is gaining weight fast, but still steady with his trends. My guy has a really nice, smooth shell, so his slow growth was okay and he is very healthy. I wouldn't worry too much about his weight as long as he continues to regularly gain weight. Even if your guy is really slow growing (according to Tom, mine is much slower than even slow growing tortoises!), then be sure to track the trends so you can see that he is moving in the right direction.
 
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